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Authentic Creations: Mary Lee and Ronald Laitsch

I wanted to check before I submit this time. This group states that they are interested in the type of thing I have written, but I was curious about a literary agency being located in Georgia. That seems odd.

Re: Authentic Creations: Mary Lee and Ronald Laitsch

Ronald Laitsch is a member of AAR. However, over the years Writer Beware has received a consistent trickle of complaints about Authentic Creations. It asks authors to defray postage and photocopying costs out-of-pocket (not standard practice among established agents, who typically let such costs accrue and deduct them from the author's advance). Also, I've been told by former clients that the agency isn't very responsive to questions and requests for information (including sharing details of publisher rejections), and can be slow about sending out authors' manuscripts.

Some editors have told me that they tend to give the agency's submissions low priority because they're often substandard or inappropriate. According to one editor at a major house, Authentic Creations mails out writing samples with a "contact us if you're interested" letter, and doesn't follow up. This isn't a very professional or effective way of submitting.

Authentic Creations refuses to divulge details of its track record, which is not typical of successful literary agencies--it also makes it impossible to verify the agency's sales claims, which in a recent market guide were listed at 20 titles for the past year.

Authentic Creations

Conflicting Info on this one.

P&E shows sales for Ron Laitsch, but Agent Verification shows no verifiable sales and has had complaints (they charge for photocopying as the expenses occur).

Also AC's site does not list their clients (often a bad sign) and promotes the fact that they are a Barnes & Noble Affiliate. B&N Affiliation has nothing to do with publishing or representation - it has to do with an affiliation with B&N's online store (a strange thing for an agency to promote).

On the other hand, Ron Laitsch is an AAR Member.

It appears that they are legit - but they don't have the greatest reputation. Check the Writer's Net discussion boards for more.

Re: Authentic C.

B and N "affiliation"

This is nothing to get excited about. Pretty much anyone with a web page can be an Amazon or B and N affiliate. They check the site for obvious problems, (hate speech, racist speech, offensive images, porn) but it's not a big deal.

The Amazon Advantage program is not difficult to "join" either, though it's not cost effective. I've joined in the past (well, filled out the forms etc.) for an undergraduate literary journal, simply because Amazon's terms were still better for the undergraduates than the distributor they had been using. Using Amazon was a simpler way to distribute extra copies to the few libraries and parents who wanted to buy them.

In other words, participation in these programs is not a seal of approval.

Authentic Creations

It's true that Authentic Creations is an AAR member, but Writer Beware continues to receive complaints about this agency. They bill pre-sale for copying and postage expenses, and writers complain that they are non-responsive and that they delay submitting material to markets. Evidence indicates the agency has a tendency to do some "shotgun" submissions, doesn't individualize its queries, and doesn't follow up on submissions. Writer Beware has only verified 3 sales for this agency, though they've been in business for several years now. The fact that they claim all sales info is "confidential" is always a red flag to WB.

Re: Authentic Creations

Re: Authentic Creations

To join AAR, an agency needs to have been in business for at least 2 years and to have made 10 verifiable sales within the past 18 months. Beyond that, I don't think there's any sort of requirement except payment of dues--i.e., once you're in, you're in.

Authentic Creations Literary Agency

This forum has so many pages, I didn't have time to go through all of them so forgive me if this is a repeat (if there is a way to search a particular forum, that info would also be appreciated ):

:confused: Does anyone know anything about the Authentic Creations Literary Agency (Ron and Mary Lee Laitsch)? I saw a "beware" somewhere that said to beware of agencies not in CA or NY. This agency is in Lawrenceville, GA.

Authentic Creations

After two futile years of sending out query letters, I entered into a contract with this agency. So far, I have not been overly-impressed with their services. I called and spoke with one of the agents directly, after I had entered into the contract, and she demonstrated unfamiliarity with my work. When I asked her to name some of their published fiction writers whom they represent, she could not do so. The contract I signed, however, is voidable within 30 days of written notice terminating the contract. Thus, I am not very concerned at this point. I will give them a shot for a few months, and, if I am unhappy with their progress, I will commence sending out query letters to other prospective agents again. At this point, I have not received any bills from them, though it does indicate in my contract that I am responsible for copy costs and postage.

If a working agent there can't name any of their clients whose work they've sold, that's a gigantic red flag emblazoned "RUN! RUN FAST!"

Will they cheat you? Maybe, maybe not. Are you likely to be the very first author whose book they've sold. No.

The second message in this thread, from Victoria Strauss, tells you that they're not a good agency to go with.

I hate to be the one to say it bluntly, but after sending out queries for two years and getting no bites but this one, it's probable that either the query or the novel is not what it should be in order to land you a 'real' agent.

Maryn, sorry to bear bad tidings

Celebrate your First Amendment Rights--Read a Banned BookThink about why it was banned and who had the power to make that happen. Is that right?

I called and spoke with one of the agents directly, after I had entered into the contract, and she demonstrated unfamiliarity with my work. When I asked her to name some of their published fiction writers whom they represent, she could not do so. The contract I signed, however, is voidable within 30 days of written notice terminating the contract. Thus, I am not very concerned at this point. I will give them a shot for a few months, and, if I am unhappy with their progress, I will commence sending out query letters to other prospective agents again.

As an AAR agency, Authentic Creations is probably able to command enough attention from a publisher that your submission will actually be looked at (though based on comments I've gotten from editors, I think there's real question as to whether it will always get serious attention). If you're then rejected, you can't submit your ms. to that publisher or imprint again. This means (assuming that AC submits to appropriate publishers--there's some evidence that it doesn't always) that you are closing off submission opportunities for yourself, and making yourself less attractive to a new agent as a result, because now there are fewer places where that agent can submit your work.

This is one of the few ways in which getting hooked by an obvious scammer, such as Janet Kay, is better than signing with a not-so-competent agent. With the scammer, you can be assured that no one will pay the slightest attention to your submission. Once you're free you can start again from scratch, as if you'd never been agented.

Authentic creations

Victoria- Thank you for the response. I am just grateful to have any agent at this point, but, as I stated earlier, I will begin looking for another one in a few months if nothing pans out with this one. I am going to give them a shot and see if I land a publishing contract.

I am curious as to your last paragraph, though. You seem to indicate that, if Authentic Creations submits my manuscript to ABC Publishing House, and ABC were to decline extending an offer to contract, that, in the future, if I were to procure Top Notch Agent to represent me, ABC would flatly not consider the work. I am not sure why this would be the case, since, legally, a publishing house could offer a contract on a work which it previously rejected if the work were resubmitted. Further, do publishers really keep track of the names of the thousands of literary works which they decline to publish? I do not know anyone in the publishing field, so I am curious about this. Thanks for any feedback.

Maryn- Thank you for your response. Yes, I am leery of this agency, but at this point, I have nothing to lose. Writing is a leisure activity for me, and I loathe the "business" side of attempting to procure a publisher. I am hopeful that this agent may be able to do what I have been unable to do.

As I work full-time, I have been unable to send out many query letters over the past two years. The query letter did generate some interest, as I had Aaron Priest, as well as a couple of other established literary agents, request to read the first few chapters. Over time, I edited the novel significantly such that it is now a far better work than it was when I sent out the initial chapters to Mr. Priest, et al.. Ultimately, Authentic Creations was the only literary agency which actually offered a contract, and, as my enthusiasm for sending out query letters on this particular work has waned, the contract came at a good time for me. At this point, I have moved on to focusing on another novel, and, I am leaving the search for publication on the other work in the hands of Authentic Creations! Let's hope for the best!